Copper foil is widely used in the electronic industry and is generally produced by an electrodeposition process wherein continuous sheets, typically several feet in width and hundreds of feet in length, are produced. Such foil is typically used in the electronics industry in the production of circuit boards. To this end, it is necessary to cut the continuous sheet of copper foil into smaller sizes suitable for shipping and handling. Generally, the first step is to slit the continuous web into rolls of narrower width. In the art of slitting copper foil, it is generally known to continuously move the web over a plurality of generally stationary blades which intersect the path of the moving web. A problem with such arrangement, is that the stationary blades tend to become "nicked" or "gouged" due to the moving metal foil continuously contacting the blade in one position. In this respect, the metallic foil is typically moving past a cutter at a high rate of speed, i.e. about 300 feet per minute. A nick or groove in a blade may deform the edges of the foil cut thereby or create fine splinters of metal which may become lodged between layers of foil and affect the quality thereof.
Another method of slitting metallic foils is by means of circular rotating cutters which intersect the path of the moving web. A problem with such blades is that they are generally more expensive than straight edge blades in original cost, set-up time and maintenance (i.e. sharpening and replacement), and rotating blades present a hazardous situation for operators who at times must manually adjust the position of individual blades while a cutting process is underway.
The present invention overcomes these and other problems by providing a device for slitting a continuous moving web of metal foil utilizing a flat blade having a straight cutting edge, which cutting edge is disposed to intersect the moving web of foil and is operable to reciprocally move relative to the moving web while maintaining constant surface contact therewith.